“I never wanted to be an actor,” says Shah Rukh Khan

Shah Rukh Khan recently stated in an interview with Filmfare Magazine that he never wanted to become an actor and assumed that he would never succeed within the world of Bollywood. The 47 year old actor took part in the interview to mark 100 years of Indian Cinema and also posed for a special edition cover along with two other legends; Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan. “I never wanted to be an actor; I always wanted to be a sportsman” said Shah Rukh. “The first person who thought I could be an actor was Harry Baweja. He called my mother and told her, “Main aapke bete ko zaroor hero banaoonga.” My mom immediately wrote his number on a wall. Mom, of course, wanted me to be in the movies. I was 17-18 then and I used to do theatre. I didn’t want to do movies. But once my mother died, there was nothing left in Delhi. So I packed my bags and came here.”

In addition, Shah Rukh shared his thoughts on the films which have had the most impact on him. “Padosan (1968) and Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983). I loved these two movies. I thought they were hilarious. Padosan had a certain innocence about it. I showed my kids Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro recently. We settled down with popcorn and I told them how funny the movie was. And I hoped they’d like it. Sadly, they didn’t find it funny at all. As a kid, I thought it was the funniest film ever. But times have changed. They couldn’t understand the relevance of the film.”

Also when asked who his favourite actresses are, Shah Rukh stated the following. “My all-time favourite actress is Mumtaz. I found her saucy and extremely beautiful. I liked Saira Banu too. She looked so innocent on screen. She looked so beautiful in ‘Bhai Batur’ (Padosan) and in the ‘Kashmir Ki Kali Hoon Main’ (Junglee, 1961) song. Also, that towel song, ‘Thoda Sa Thehro,’ in Victoria No 203 (1972). She was amazing.”